UNY I-Corps Alumni Scales Up with Over $10 Million in Funding
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia, impacting over 33 million people worldwide every day. Diagnostic mapping options exist, however; they are not yet advanced enough to provide the treatment that chronic AF patients need. In a situation where one size does not fit all, CoreMap, an alumni of UNY I-Corps, is creating innovative diagnostic technology that can enable patient-specific curative treatment for AF.
After completing a UNY I-Corps regional course at the University of Vermont in 2019, CoreMap went on to accomplish several milestones in 2020, including securing a $251,143 National Science (NSF) Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award and $10.5 million in Series A financing.
Sarah Kalil and Peter Spector co-founded the Vermont-based company, which also has offices in Massachusetts, in 2016 using cardiac electrophysiology developed by Spector, who is a Professor of Medicine and Engineering at the University of Vermont. CoreMap’s innovative micro-electrode technology overcomes previous obstacles in mapping heart activity, particularly issues with spatial resolution and sample density. CoreMap’s patented innovatoins will allow physicians to finally “see” AF and develop curative, patient specific treatments.
While enrolled in the UNY I-Corps regional course, Kalil, the CEO and co-founder of CoreMap, conducted customer discovery research to help quantify her innovation’s sizable market opportunity.
“The UNY I-Corps program, process and people were tremendously valuable to CoreMap in our early stages by helping us to better understand and articulate our market opportunity to potential investors and stakeholders,” said Kalil.
September 2020 was a significant month for CoreMap, receiving an NSF SBIR Phase I research grant award and completing a Series A financing round. Known as “America’s Seed Fund,” federal SBIR funding is granted to startups and small businesses with the potential to turn their scientific discoveries into commercialized products with societal impact. CoreMap’s Series A round, led by Qure Ventures and supported by Vermont business accelerator Hula, secured $10.5 million to support future product development and regulatory submission.
“The recent funding milestones have allowed CoreMap to expand the team with the best-in-class talent required transform our, vision into reality. CoreMap is focused on our mission of delivering hope for the millions who suffer from Atrial Fibrillation with limited treatment opportunities,” Kalil continued.
For additional information, visit www.coremapmedical.com, or email [email protected].